A
nyone with even the slight-
est interest in trials—and
even off-roading, for that
matter—knows, or should know,
who Debbie Evans is. But few
know that she once made the
cover of Cycle News.
In case you need a refresher,
Debbie Evans stole the hearts of
motorcyclists worldwide when
the 5'4" Southern Californian, at
just 20 years of age, went to Fort
William, Scotland, to compete
in the Scottish Six Days Trials in
1978. At that time, the art of tri
-
als riding was beginning to gain
traction in the U.S., but it was
already as big as baseball here in
the U.S. as trials was (and pretty
much still is) in Europe. Evans
was born into a family of motor-
cyclists. You might not know that
her Dad rode the long wheelie
on the trials bike in the movie On
Any Sunday. By her mid-teens,
Debbie was an accomplished
trials and off-road rider when the
bug to ride the Scottish Six Days
Trials bit her. But getting there,
she thought, would be impos
-
sible.
"I kind of secretly dreamed
about being able to ride the
Scottish Six Days, but as a young
teenage girl, I just thought there
was no way that I'd be able to
go," said Evans, who we recently
chatted with.
To get to Scotland, she had sev
-
eral considerable hurdles to clear.
First, she had to get her
international license, which she
applied for in 1977. However, the
AMA seemed hesitant to grant
her the license.
"They stalled me," Evans said
in an interview CN did with Evans
in 1978 right after the Six Days.
"I guess they didn't want some
squid of a girl riding in the World
Championship."
So, in 1977, Evans competed
in the AMA National Trials series.
She finished inside the top 50
out of 150 competitors, "but it
was good enough to persuade
the AMA to give me my interna
-
tional license this year," she said
in the 1978 interview.
With that hurdle completed,
CNIIARCHIVES
P108
BY KIT PALMER
DEBBIE EVANS AND THE
SCOTTISH SIX DAYS TRIALS
THE DREAM
(Left) Debbie today with her husband,
three-time AMA Trials Champion
Lane Leavitt, and their son, Daniel.
(Above) Debbie Evans made
the cover of Cycle News in 1978
when she competed in the Scottish
Six Days Trials. (Left) Debbie
Evans was the only female who
competed (and finished) in the
Scottish Six Days Trials in 1978.
LIVING
